Chapter 755 -680: Sir, My Name Is Jalen Brunson
Roy left.
As he was leaving, Chen Yu even had the feeling that he was a little happy.
Perhaps he didn’t want to undergo treatment right now himself.
And before he knew it, the new season had arrived.
October 4th was the new season’s media day.
Chen Yu got up bright and early that day, only to end up arriving late.
The main reason was Xiaoyanfei making a bit of a fuss.
By the time he finally calmed him down and rushed over to the US Airways Center, the other players had already started their photoshoots.
With O’Neal gone, this part of the event felt like it was missing a lot of its usual fun.
Quite a few reporters had shown up.
There were American ones, and Chinese ones too.
After all, Mo Ke was there as a sort of mascot.
However, Chen Yu didn’t see Su Jun. He must have gone to Los Angeles.
Yao Ming and the Lakers were the real darlings of the Chinese media.
As soon as Chen Yu appeared, a crowd of reporters naturally gathered around him. They were well-behaved, asking their questions one by one in an orderly manner.
If Chen Yu chose not to answer, they didn’t press the issue.
Everyone knew Chen Yu was tight-lipped; if he didn’t want to say something, it was useless no matter who asked.
Chen Yu picked a few questions to answer, such as the outlook for the new season and the league’s new public service initiative.
“We’re doing the right thing, working to build a positive image for the league.”
It was a rather formal, by-the-book answer.
It wasn’t until he met with Stern later that Chen Yu learned why he was pushing this public service initiative.
The impact of last year’s brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills was just too damaging.
That’s why Stern made a very important decision this year: instituting a dress code.
If you weren’t playing, as long as you were on the sidelines, you couldn’t wear hip-hop attire with big gold chains hanging around your neck. You had to be properly dressed in formal business wear, a suit and dress shoes.
In Stern’s words, when the cameras panned across the two benches during a national broadcast, anyone who didn’t know better might think it was two gangs facing off.
That would be a bad influence on children.
And the public service initiative was also meant to earn goodwill and cultivate a positive image for the league.
So, of course, Chen Yu couldn’t go against it.
Speaking of the dress code, a reporter actually asked Chen Yu how he felt about Iverson’s public opposition to it.
Chen Yu shot the reporter a weary glance.
‘A familiar face. So this is how you’re going to play it, huh?’
“You should be asking Iverson, not me.” Chen Yu shut him down with that single sentence.
Forcing these Black players, who championed hip-hop and freedom, to wear suits and sit ramrod straight on the sidelines was like forcing students to sit perfectly upright during class—it was enough to kill them.
That’s why Iverson was making such a fuss.
But it was most likely useless. Chen Yu knew Stern’s resolve was firm.
Besides, Stern was swift to act.
After controlling the league for so many years, he was an absolute monarch whose word was law. When he set his mind to something, no one could stop him.
Iverson was a star, one of the four great shooting guards, but he wasn’t on Jordan’s level—the league didn’t need to beg him to come back and save it. Therefore, his opposition was invalid!
After getting rid of the crowd of reporters, Chen Yu went to chat with some of the team’s new players.
Like Livingston, for instance.
Chen Yu really liked the young man and had high hopes for him.
He even made a point of pulling him over to Hardaway and asking Hardaway to look after him.
“Anfernee, this kid is a huge fan of yours. Take him under your wing, just like you mentored Tracy back in Orlando.”
Chen Yu seemed to recall that when Livingston entered the league last year, he’d said in a media interview that as a kid, he would watch tapes of Pistol Pete Maravich and Magic Johnson, but his favorite player was always Penny Hardaway.
Exactly the same as Tracy McGrady.
Hardaway paused for a moment, then playfully tapped Livingston on the chest. “Alright, kid,” he said. “You’re sticking with me from now on.”
Livingston nodded eagerly, looking both thrilled and starstruck.
After he left, Hardaway said, “Chen, he’s a good kid. I know.”
He knew perfectly well that the Suns had paid a steep price to get Livingston. In fact, the Suns had wanted to acquire him last year as well.
The objective, then, was clear: they were grooming his successor.
He was already thirty-four, and his career was entering its final stages. With the Suns, he had earned every honor he could, reaching the peak of his career and achieving a sense of completion. So, before he retired, it was only right that he use his experience to help the Suns groom a suitable successor.
Chen Yu clapped him on the shoulder. Nothing more needed to be said.
He turned around, and someone approached him.
It was Rick Brunson, a veteran who had also just joined this year.
The notable thing was that he had a child with him, who was looking at Chen Yu shyly.
Because of Xiaoyanfei, Chen Yu now had a special fondness and patience for children. He took the initiative to greet the little boy and asked Brunson what his name was.
“Sir, my name is Jalen. Jalen Brunson.”
He was holding a basketball covered in signatures.
He probably wanted to pursue a career in basketball in the future.
He was just a bit on the short side, though he looked quite sturdy.
And sure enough, after chatting with the elder Brunson, Chen Yu learned that he did indeed want his son to pursue basketball, and he was even planning to bring him to Phoenix for school.
He was thirty-three himself and didn’t have many playing years left.
He also brought up his post-retirement career plans, saying frankly that he wanted to join Chen Yu’s company.
Hearing this, Chen Yu understood.
The man wanted to replicate Old Curry’s path. In other words, he was willing to come to Phoenix for the sake of developing his son.
The media had long since dug up every last detail about what happened between Chen Yu and Little Curry.
Otherwise, during last year’s program, how could a Curry with only average talent become the team captain and then go on to overcome all obstacles in the playoffs?
It was all because he had been personally trained by Chen Yu for years.
“Sure. My company is always looking for people.” Chen Yu’s words put Rick Brunson’s mind at ease, and he thanked him profusely.
He didn’t dare to take up any more of Chen Yu’s time and left with his son.
Chen Yu watched Jalen Brunson for a few moments more.
‘Parents all over the world want their children to succeed,’ he thought.
However, judging by Jalen Brunson’s current condition, getting into the NBA wouldn’t be easy.
After all, his dad’s talent was only average.
Once media day was over, the new season had officially begun.
Chen Yu and Old Kolangelo had originally discussed building a new training facility.
But with salaries skyrocketing again this year, the plan had to be put on hold.
This season’s training camp wasn’t held at the University of Arizona like in previous years; instead, it took place at Chen Yu’s training facility.
The facilities here were worlds better than the university’s.
Furthermore, Chen Yu had signed a contract with the team this season to lease his facility to the Suns for their daily training until the new center was completed.
For a fee, of course.
But since it was just moving money from his left hand to his right, it didn’t really make much of a difference.
When he arrived at the training facility the next day, the entire Suns team had already started practice.
“Chen, sometimes I think we should just outsource the team’s daily training to you. It would save our coaching staff the headache, and we could just focus on the games,” Skiles said to Chen Yu, tossing out a wild idea.
Chen Yu shot him down without a second thought.
‘Don’t think you can freeload off me just because I’m a part-owner of the team.’

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